Financial Considerations in Working with a Wedding Planner

It's a common misconception that a costs more than if you make all the arrangements yourself. That's because a good wedding planner is your agent and will look after your best interests. Wedding planners have good connections with a wide variety of wedding suppliers and vendors across an array of price ranges. The amount of time a professional wedding planner spends with you on planning your wedding can help you significantly lower most, if not, all expenses. A carefully planned wedding is likely to be less expensive than a wedding that is not planned. In a lot of cases, when people fail to plan the wedding professionally, several incorrect or inappropriate products and services are purchased. Experience is the key here.

The Contract

You and the wedding planner should agree to a detailed, signed contract that includes all the relevant information on the planning and execution of the wedding. The contract is your safeguard in case of dispute. The contract should also detail everything in black and white as to who is responsible for each part of the wedding. Having a contract between you and the wedding planner also protects you financially as to the payment and terms included in the contract. Just make sure that any invoice you receive references the contract included. All parties, including family members, that are making payment or are part of the financial arrangements should also be a party to the contract.

Paying your Wedding Planner

You will have to decide on the full fees or compensation to the wedding planner. This should definitely happen at the construction of a contract with the wedding planner. The method of billing depends on a lot of factors but mainly on how long the planning process takes and the intensity of the job. If the wedding is to be planned over a number of months you'll need to pay the wedding planner at least monthly. If there is not a lot of time before the marriage happens, then it is normal for the wedding planner to ask for a deposit or an advance with the remainder of the payment due in 15 days after the wedding. A lot of planners are more than willing to consider a variety of payment methods including cash, check or credit cards. But some may only accept check. You should define the particular details about this beforehand. It's also a good idea to plan your wedding several few months in advance because that allows a more detailed perspective and also helps to assess the quality of the wedding planner's skills more effectively.

Insurance

Now the final consideration you should address is whether your wedding planner is insured. If things don't really work out according to plan and you require arbitration, you will need to be safeguarded. So, always ask the wedding planner if they are insured and covered. This insurance needs to cover any damage to the property of third parties like the venue owners as well as your own property. A number of different subcontractors may be employed by the wedding planner to work on your and the third party's property, and damages and accidents can and do happen sometimes. Insurance is your primary protection against these kinds of unforeseen events. Make sure this important item regarding insurance is included in your plans.